Awakening

For a while, Irina stared blankly ahead, then began muttering in a low voice.

"W-what is this memory...? Why... have I never remembered this until now...?"

Kania, who had been quietly watching her, let out a sigh and posed a question.

"So, you were the one who saw through Young Master's villainy, after all, Miss Irina?"

Irina, her eyes filled with confusion, slowly nodded and clenched her fists tightly as she spoke.

"Then... Frey was protecting me... by sacrificing his own mother...?"

"You've managed to recall it well. Young Master even had to delve into his subconscious to bring that memory back."

"Ahh..."

"Perhaps your memories were tampered with in a different way from Young Master and me? I didn't recall anything special when I entered this room. Well, now that you know the truth, there's no need for me to explain it all tediously."

As Kania spoke calmly, Irina collapsed to the floor, her soul seemingly drained from her body.

"I never wanted to know a truth like this..."

"Neither did I. Even now, the guilt is so overwhelming that I want to confess everything to Young Master and atone."

Watching Irina, Kania sat down across from her and began speaking in a soft voice.

"But this matter must not be revealed to Young Master until everything is over."

"Th-that's..."

"Young Master always says he's fine... but even to me, his mental state seems to have reached its limit. You'd know after spending just a day with him."

Irina's expression darkened as she recalled Frey lost in his hallucinations, and Kania sighed as if she had expected as much.

"Moreover, there are still many trials ahead for Young Master. We've only just finished the first one... I'm honestly afraid of what the next will bring."

"...Ugh."

As soon as Kania mentioned the "trials," Irina bowed her head and began trembling.

"...Miss Irina, could I ask one favor?"

"What...?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Kania gazed at her steadily and asked quietly. Irina replied in a voice drained of energy.

"Please don't resent Young Master too much."

"What?"

Kania spoke to Irina with a bitter expression, then let out a deep sigh before continuing.

"There is no one in the entire world as pitiful as Young Master. So please, don't hate him too much."

"...Ha."

Watching Kania earnestly plead not to resent him when she herself needed help more than anyone, Irina could vaguely grasp just how lonely a battle the two had fought.

"Tell me everything you know."

"Pardon?"

And with that, she finally made her decision.

"I want to know the full truth."

Whether to turn away from the truth and run, or accept it and become a source of strength.

"It won't be an easy path. Every moment will be agonizing, and sometimes impulsive thoughts will arise."

"I don't care."

"Are you truly prepared to stand with us?"

Gazing at her, Kania asked again and again, right up to the end. Though she desperately needed allies more than anything, she knew the immense ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pain of choosing this lonely path that no one acknowledged, stirring a subtle sense of kinship and pity within her.

But even Kania knew deep down.

"Just tell me already."

That Irina, with her resolute eyes, would never change her mind.

"Haa..."

Hearing Irina's firm affirmation, Kania sighed in a mix of relief and resignation, then looked straight at her—now mirroring her own expression—and said,

"Very well. Let's begin."

"Haa... alright, what is it this time."

I had collapsed in the room Aria led me to, clutching my head, only to find myself in the cramped, dark space I despised so much.

"Ugh... hate it, hate this."

Writhing on the floor in disgust, I soon chuckled and muttered to myself.

"Still, it's good for mental training, as expected."

In the past, just entering such a space would make my hands shake and my breathing labored, but after being locked in rooms so often due to these trials, those symptoms had nearly vanished. Not only that—I'd trained my mind enduring horrific visions, held a birthday party, and even met Mother. Considering all that, the system's trials were clearly meant to make me stronger...

"F-Frey..."

"...Ugh."

I was about to praise the system somehow when my critically wounded mother appeared before me. As expected, that bastard system was beyond redemption.

My mood soured a bit, but showing me something like that wouldn't break my mentality. It was just an illusion anyway.

"Help me... Frey..."

"My mother never once asked for help, you idiot system."

I shoved away the illusion reaching out to me, sighed, and sank into thought.

"That said... I need to figure out who saw through me soon..."

I still hadn't identified who had caught on to me, and it was starting to make me anxious. At least the Mind Reading skill had revealed that Irina and Clana "suspected" me, but that was far from enough.

"Haa... Should I buy Mind Reading ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Skill LV2? No, life force recovery is more urgent."

Even dumping every point I earned into the investment system wasn't enough, and buying a skill worth tens of thousands of points would be a huge loss. But it had its pros and cons, so I needed to think carefully...

"Ow, damn."

Deep in thought, a roar suddenly erupted ahead.

"Ha..."

I wondered what illusion it would be this time, and there was Mother, clutching something as she fled desperately through the forest.

"...Now it's even adding a backstory."

The system, thinking I'd tremble from trauma at her corpse, seemed to have stepped up after my indifferent reaction.

"Kuhk."

Mother, covered in wounds, dodged a black energy blast from behind by emitting star mana and hurling herself aside.

"Ugh..."

She barely evaded it and kept running somewhere.

"No choice... I have to do this..."

After running a while, Mother looked down at what she held and began speaking.

"Mm... Mama?"

"...Shh."

Finally, hearing my child self's voice, I realized what Mother had been carrying while fleeing.

"Shall we play hide-and-seek, my Frey?"

"Yeah! Hide-and-seek!"

The child me answered brightly, and Mother smiled gently.

"Okay, then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mama will be the seeker."

"I wanna be the seeker this time~?"

"We already did that last time."

The child me pouted, and Mother chuckled softly.

"Next time, you can be the seeker every time."

I smiled at that, and Mother set me down, speaking.

"This time, we'll change the rules a bit, Frey."

"Change the rules?"

"Yes, our smart Frey will understand right away. Right?"

I nodded eagerly, eyes sparkling, and Mother quickly explained.

"Mama will count to 100 here, and you count to 100 while running. Got it so far?"

"Of course!"

I shouted confidently, and Mother stroked my head, continuing.

"Once you reach 100, stop moving and hide behind something nearby. And never reveal yourself."

"Okay!"

Mother watched the still-innocent child me, then suddenly squeezed her eyes shut and hugged me tightly.

"Mama, what's wrong all of a sudden?"

I giggled and asked, but after a moment of silence, Mother replied in a trembling voice.

"This game ends only when Mama finds Frey and hugs him like this. Understand everything?"

"I got it all!"

"Good. If you resist with a stick like last time, I'll eat you up—get ready?"

"Hehe."

I laughed sheepishly and tried to run ahead, but Mother grabbed my arm, stopping me, and added in a low voice.

"I love you, my son."

"Me too!"

With that, she let child me go, gathered star mana in her hand, and walked toward the opposite direction from where we'd come, muttering.

"...So you must survive, no matter what."

The next instant, my vision returned to the narrow, dark room.

"Fuck."

Having witnessed such a convincingly crafted scene, I scowled and muttered.

"...It's still just an illusion."

Suddenly, I recalled the dream where child me told Irina to hide tight because "Mama said so," but if that were true, it would explain why my memory of hide-and-seek was fabricated. I had some inkling of the truth anyway, but regardless, it was just an illusion. A "hallucination" the system showed to torment me. So, even seeing an illusion made for such petty purposes had no impact on me. It wouldn't.

"Frey."

As I thought that, the surroundings blurred, and a voice called out.

'Ah, time to wake up, huh.'

Feeling my mind clear, I realized it was time to snap out of the illusion and quietly opened my eyes.

"Sleep well?"

Someone peering down at me entered my view.

"Ugh... my head."

Staring at the unidentified being, I felt a headache and glanced around before chuckling softly.

"What, is this an illusion too?"

"What do you mean?"

She tilted her head at my words, so I pointed beyond.

"Isn't that Irina wearing Kania's clothes over there?"

"I see."

"It's so tight she's undone the suit... Pfft, pfuhaha..."

I laughed, pointing at Irina, who kept her head bowed silently for a long time. Then I noticed Kania talking to her beside.

"...And that's everything Young Master has endured up to now."

"A-ah..."

Seeing their horrified expressions grow, I panicked and rushed to the two seated at the desk.

"Sorry... Frey."

Up close, her eyes were bloodshot red, nose runny, face streaked with tears.

The moment I confirmed it, everything fell into place in my mind. The familiar hiding spot, Kania's unusual reaction, her catching things Irina used to as a child, and the forest full of childhood memories with Irina.

"Ha, haha..."

My mind raced uselessly, grasping the truth instantly, and I began laughing hollowly.

"Haha... ahahaha..."

After laughing for a while, I asked Irina, who had her head bowed, in a low voice.

"You were the one who saw through my villainy two months ago, right?"

"Frey, I... I was wrong... Hic..."

But she just wept, tears streaming down.

"No, you don't need to feel guilty..."

I reached to comfort her, but...

"...Huh?"

For some reason, my hand passed right through her shoulder.

"W-what the hell?"

Panicking, I yanked my hand back and touched it with the other—sure enough, they passed through each other instead of clasping.

"...D-did I die?"

"Who knows."

I muttered blankly, staring at my hands, then turned as the being beside me replied.

"W-what? Who are you?"

The figure glowed all over, impossible to identify, so I scowled and asked. She slowly spoke.

"First, watch what's happening carefully."

As she finished, Kania spoke, so I turned back to the two at the desk.

"Miss Irina, are you really going to do it?"

"...Yes. To avoid that 'curse' you mentioned and help Frey even a little, there's no other way."

"Understood. Then..."

Irina, tears dried, wore a resolved expression. Kania cautiously gestured with her hand.

"Hyaak...!"

Suddenly, the massive black magic overhead surged into Irina's body.

"Miss Irina, I must warn you again... This forces black magic into your withered mana circuits from mana exhaustion, so the pain will be immense..."

"No matter what, it can't be worse than what Frey felt."

"Then, endure just a little longer."

Kania warned once more and infused the black magic faster.

"Agh...! Urgh..."

"I'm sorry. If it were my black magic, it might hurt less."

"With your black magic... even years of gathering wouldn't suffice. It has to be this much up there... for success... Urk...!"

After absorbing it for so long, Irina slumped over the desk, trembling violently.

"No way... Filling her mana circuits with black magic before mana exhaustion ends, to fool the system?"

Watching, I realized their plan and clicked my tongue. Only Irina, with her innate genius for mana despite exhaustion, could attempt this—and it was incredibly risky. If the ritual failed, her mana circuits could be permanently damaged, rendering her mana-incapable—the fate mages feared more than death.

"Hyaaaaaagh!!"

"Just a bit more, Miss Irina. Almost done."

Irina suddenly screamed horrifically. Panicking, I tried to rush to her but glanced at my passing hands, realizing I couldn't help, and watched silently.

"A-aaaaa... Urgh... "

"Are you alright, Miss Irina?"

After a long time, black smoke rose from Irina, and Kania approached cautiously.

"This much... is nothing."

Irina, her mana circuits blackened like veins bulging across her body, panted heavily.

"...Ritual successful."

Kania sighed in relief, slumping down and wiping cold sweat from her brow.

"Now, Young Master and the young lady..."

They caught their breath and turned to the bed where Aria and I lay, but...

"...Huh?"

Black energy from somewhere seeped into me, still lying on the bed, and the soundly sleeping Aria. They panicked.

"W-why isn't the control working?"

Kania reached out frantically, but the black magic wouldn't obey, so she rushed to the bed.

"Hah!"

Aria suddenly sat up, blasting star mana from her hand. Kania retreated hastily, asking in a tense voice.

"Young lady? What's wrong?"

Aria looked at her, lips curling into a smirk...

"Kuhk!!"

...and unleashed a barrage of starlight blasts at Kania indiscriminately.

"What... what's going on?"

Everything froze then, and I looked around in confusion.

"It's lingering resentment."

"What?"

The being beside me spoke quietly.

"The lingering thoughts of two fools who died pursuing forbidden truths, mixed into the black magic. They emerged when it dissipated."

"Th-that..."

"Even as lingering thoughts, their desires remain. See how they've possessed you and your sister as hosts."

"Ah..."

Grasping the situation, I sighed.

"So, am I dead then?"

"No, merely stripped of control over your body for now."

"I see."

I nodded calmly, staring blankly at the frozen scene. The being beside me asked gently.

"Do you want to give up?"

I scowled at her words and turned. She spoke softly.

"From here, it all depends on your choice."

"My choice?"

"Yes. Everything will change based on it."

She approached, and I asked calmly.

"What if I give up here?"

"Eternal rest. It would feel quite pleasant, probably."

"I see."

I nodded quietly, and she continued gently.

"No one would blame you. You've done your best, and you deserve to..."

"What if I keep going?"

Interrupting, I asked again. She replied dryly.

"A chain of hardships and adversity."

I closed my eyes wearily, and she added urgently.

"It might be even more unreasonable, more horrific than now... You might meet your end without even this choice. Still..."

"Enough. Hug me."

Interrupting again, I smiled.

"Let me play seeker for once."

The glowing light before me scattered, illuminating the room brightly.

"...How did you know?"

With the sparkling light everywhere, the woman who appeared in my view tilted her head. I approached her slowly, explaining.

"The ceiling's full of black magic, yet light enters the room—that means something even stronger overlays it..."

Embracing my fully revealed mother, I finished with a bright smile.

"Above all, how could I not recognize the one who worries for me so much."

"You've grown so upright."

Holding Mother tightly for a long time, I felt the warm light permeating me and murmured softly.

"I'll survive, no matter what."

Mother, dissolving into light fragments seeping into me, chuckled.

"Of course. Whose son are you?"

With those words, she fully merged into me along with the star mana filling the ceiling. Immediately after, a system window appeared.

"Bullshit."

I swatted the window away and muttered lowly as the scene shifted around me.

"...Who the hell do you think you are, trying to steal the glory."

"Y-Young Master! Young lady!"

Regaining consciousness, a gruesome scene unfolded before me.

"Ugh..."

"Please snap out of it! Please!"

Kania and Irina lay battered on the half-destroyed room's floor. Aria approached them, emanating black magic. I was surrounded by sparkling star mana.

"I beg you...! Please...!"

"Kania."

I called softly to Kania, who desperately tried to stop me and Aria, her face pleading.

"Do you know?"

"Pardon?"

She looked confused as I, who had just attacked her fiercely, now spoke calmly.

"I've always..."

Staring at her, I raised my hand with a gentle smile, finishing.

"...wanted to try casting magic at least once."

The next instant, sparkling flashes from my hand enveloped everything except Kania and Irina.

-Shaaaa...

The black magic filling the room purified instantly. Aria, approaching them, lost consciousness and collapsed.

-Shuuuk!

A black orb shot from Aria's body like a bullet toward me. I coated the sword in my left hand with star mana, slicing it effortlessly, and added,

"Still, the sword feels more natural for now."